𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄| Mike Wheeler [COMPLETED UNTIL SEASON FIVE]

Chapter Zero: Before

chapter zero:
❛ before ❜

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The wind howled outside the cabin like it had a voice, like it knew things. Scarlett had gotten used to that sound-of trees groaning under pressure, of snow scattering across the roof, of nature trying to speak louder than the quiet fear everyone carried now.

It had been six months since the sky had split open and Hawkins began bleeding from the inside. Six months since Vecna had taken Max and left her in a coma, suspended somewhere between life and death. Six months since the government had rolled in, set up barricades, and wrapped the town in barbed wire and silence.

Six months since anyone had felt free.

Scarlett sat on the small couch in the rebuilt cabin, tucked against a patchwork blanket, staring into the fire. Her legs were pulled up to her chest, arms curled around them. Her brown hair, freshly dyed, framed her face in loose waves, nothing like the sharp black bob she'd had before-before the world split in two. Before the lab. Before everything.

Across from her sat Dr. Melanie Rourke, the only person outside of her mother and Eleven who knew the truth and hadn't immediately reached for a gun or a phone to call the military. She was young for a therapist, maybe mid-thirties, and didn't speak in the soft, sugary tone most adults used when they thought kids were about to break. Her voice was clear, grounded. Honest. And Scarlett appreciated that.

They'd been meeting like this for the past two months-quiet sessions in the cabin while Carrie, Scarlett's mom, kept watch outside with her hunting rifle and a tight jaw. She didn't trust anyone, but she trusted Melanie. That was rare.

Melanie tapped her pen against her notepad and smiled gently. "I see you changed your hair."

Scarlett lifted her eyes slowly, giving a small shrug. "My mom thought it'd be safer. Said it was time I 'blended in' again." She ran a hand through her now-dark strands, eyes falling back to the fire. "The government's still looking. But they only have a photo of me when I had the bob. And they don't know my name... just the number."

Melanie's voice was quiet. "Seven."

Scarlett nodded. "Seven."

A long breath settled between them.

Melanie looked down at her notes. "How have your feelings been lately?"

Scarlett didn't answer at first. Her eyes were distant, the firelight dancing in them like ghosts.

"Anxious," she finally whispered. "I can't stop worrying. About Max. About what's gonna happen when-or if-she wakes up. About Vecna. About him coming for me again. I can feel it sometimes... like a static in my spine. Like he's still out there. Watching."